Squads –
KXIP –
KL Rahul (c & wk), Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Krishnappa Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Jordan, Deepak Hooda, Glenn Maxwell, Ishan Porel, James Neesham, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell, Tajinder Dhillon
MI –
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Quinton de Kock (wk), Kieron Pollard, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, James Pattinson
Team News –
KXIP –
– Punjab lost their last game against RR even by scoring massive 223 runs. Rahul scored 50 and Mayank his maiden 100 last game but their bowling became the weak link.
– Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham, Nicolas Pooran and Sheldon Cottrell/Chris Jordan will be their likely 4 foreign players to start.
– Rahul will open with Mayank Agrawal. Both have played from Karnataka in domestic circuit and knows each other quite well. Rahul scored 126 in last 2nd game while Mayank scored 106 in last game. Both are leading scorers this season.
– Nicolas Pooran will bat at 1 down. He is a exciting talent and has the ability to clear the fence with ease. He scored quickfire 25 runs of 8 balls last game.
– Karun Nair and Glenn Maxwell will bat 2 down and 3 down respectively. Their middle order which was looking quite weak has been strengthened by arrival of Maxwell.
– Sarfaraz/Mandip will play the role of finisher along with Jimmy Neesham. Neesham can be promoted any day for his big hitting ability.
– Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi and Glenn Maxwell will lead the spin attack. Both of Ashwin and Bishnoi are leggies .
– Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell will lead the pace attack. Jimmy Neesham will assist them.
MI –
– MI lost their last game in a triller against RCB which went into the super over which Bumrah was unable to defend. MI now have lost 2 of their 3 games.
– Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult and James Pattinson/Nathan Coulter-Nile will be their likely 4 foreign players.
– Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock will open the innings. Both will attack from the ball 1 especially De Kock. Rohit scored a brilliant 80(54b) last 2nd game. Both failed to score last game.
– Suryakumar Yadav will bat 1 down. He had an excellent domestic season scoring lots of runs while also scored 400+ runs in last IPL. He is a must have player from Mumbai.
– Ishan Kishan will bat 2 down. Kishan played is 1st game of the season against RCB and he smashed and was unfortunately out on 99.
– Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard will bat next followed by Krunal Pandya. All three are forming the most dependable middle and lower middle order in the IPL whith both Pandya and Pollard playing the finishers role. Both can be promoted any day.
– Rahul Chahar the young leggie will lead the spin attack along with left arm spinner Krunal Pandya. Rahul took big Wicket of Virat Kohli last game.
– Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and James Pattinson will lead the pace attack. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard (1-2 overs) will assist them.
Probable XI –
KXIP –
KL Rahul(C & wk ), Mayank Agrawal, Karun Nair, Nicolas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Mandip Singh/Sarfaraz Khan, Jimmy Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi.
MI –
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pitch Report –
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitches at Abi Dhabi are generally at the slower side giving assistance to spin more than pace.
Average Score : 140
Head to Head –
Total games : 24
KXIP Won : 11
MI Won : 13
Team Blueprint –
WK –
L Rahul( Opener + wk, currently best T20 Batsman in world cricket, 126*, 69R in last 2 game, Must C/VC)
N Pooran( 1/2 down, very hard hitting batsman, can be promoted any day, 25(8b) last game, Must )
Quinton de Kock( Opener + wk, a must have combo, very attacking batsman, 3rd highest scorer last season, Must have )
I Kishan( 1 down, very attacking batsman, 99 runs against RCB last game, surely a must have Choice this game)
BAT –
Chris Gayle( Opener, no intro needed, played his last t20 in BPL 2019, will have to wait for his chance)
R Sharma( Opener, no introduction needed, 4800+ IPL runs, 80 runs against KKR game, Must have )
Chris Lynn( Opener, very poor CPL 2019, Just 138 runs in 9 games, will not play as team already has filled overseas slots )
Suryakumar( 1 down, 404 runs at a SR of 135 in IPL, 47(28b) last 2nd game, Must have)
Saurabh Tiwary( 2 down, made a comeback after almost 3 years, 42(31b), 21(13b) last 2 games, didn’t played Last game )
Mayank Agrawal(Open, SR of 142 last IPL , excellent player of spin , 89(60), 26(20b), 106(50b) this tournament, Must have )
Mandeep Singh( Middle order, very good Syed Mushtaq trophy with 3 50+ scores striking at 155)
Sarfaraz ( middle order, can be used as a floater for hitting, very good domestic form)
ALL –
H Pandya( 3 down, 402 runs + 14 wickets at a SR of 191 in IPL 2019, didn’t bowled last 3 games, poor form)
K Pollard( 3-4 down + 1-2 overs of pace, Man of tournament in CPL recently, 207 runs + 8 Wickets in CPL 2020, attacking 60(24b) last game )
Krunal Pandya( 4-5 down + 4 overs of spin, left arm spin, bowls tight line and length, 4w in 12i against ABD, good option to have this game)
Glenn Maxwell ( 2 down+ 2-3 overs of off spin, century against England recently, Must have )
Jimmy Neesham ( Middle order + Medium pacer, hard hitter of ball, 1w last game)
K Gowtham ( Off spin + late hitting, SR of 166 in t20s, decent bowler , poor last IPL with just 1 Wicket, didn’t played last game)
BOWL –
Jasprit Bumrah( Right Arm Fast, no introduction needed, going very expensive from last few game, Must have )
S Cottrell ( Left arm fast, known for his pace and bounce, 2 Wickets against RCB, 52 runs in 3 overs last game, can be replaced by Jordan )
M Shami ( Right Arm fast, hit the deck bowler, Wicket taker, 19 Wickets last IPL, 8 Wickets in 3 games, Must have)
Chris Jordan ( Right Arm Medium Fast, best death bowler currently in world cricket, can play for Cottrell)
Rahul Chahar( Leggie, Must have in this conditions, 1w last game, less selection today)
Trent Boult( Left arm fast, world class bowler, will bowl in death, played just 5 games took 5 Wickets last IPL, 2w last game, must have this game)
James Pattinson( Pacer, bowls most if overs in powerplay, 2w last 2nd game, good option to save credits)
Ishan Porel ( Medium pacer, 13 t20 Wickets in 13 games, u19 player, got good pace)
Ravi Bishnoi( Leggie, bowls fast spin, excellent domestic record, 3 Wickets against RCB )
Murugan Ashwin( Leggie, bowls most of his deliveries as googly, 4 Wickets in last 2 games )
C/VC Options –
KXIP –
KL Rahul
Mayank Agrawal
Mohammad Shami
MI –
Rohit Sharma
Quinton de Kock
Kieran Pollard
